Maintaining privacy in location-based operations

ABSTRACT

Various approaches discussed herein enable techniques for managing privacy with respect to location-based operations, for example by receiving point of interest (POI) data corresponding to location data such as global positioning service (GPS) data at a computing device along with various location-based rules, which when satisfied, result in attribution events being generated that indicate various characteristics associated with POIs in the POI data. The attribution events are then sent to a server without compromising the location privacy of the computing device, because the location of the computing device is not included with the attribution events.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/976,688, filed on Dec. 21, 2015, entitled “MAINTAINING PRIVACY INLOCATION-BASED OPERATIONS,” which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Many people utilize location data to obtain the locations of, anddirections to, various locations, as well as to locate places near acurrent or specific location. A person wanting to perform such a tasktypically opens an application on an electronic device, inputs thenecessary information (such as a location or point of interest (POI))and receives location information, driving directions, nearby points ofinterest, etc., and other such information. Often, the precise locationof the electronic device is sent to a server in order to provide variousfunctionality, which results in the server accruing a history of thedevice's, and the user's, location over time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments in accordance with the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system for providing location-basedoperations, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example situation for location-based operations,including generating attribution events, in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example sequence of events for providinglocation-based operations, in accordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process for location-based operations, inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process for location-based operations, inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example situation for location-based operations,including generating attribution events, in accordance with variousembodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example electronic device that can be utilized inaccordance with various embodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example configuration of components of anelectronic device, such as the device illustrated in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 illustrates an example environment in which aspects of thevarious embodiments can be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent disclosure may overcome one or more of the aforementioned andother deficiencies experienced in conventional approaches forlocation-based operations on an electronic device where a device may bereporting location data back to third parties (e.g., servers), in effectleaving a breadcrumb trail of the user's location that may not be usedin accordance with a user's wishes. In particular, various embodimentsenable location-based operations on and/or associated with an electronicdevice by sending point of interest (POI) data to the device inconjunction with a set of location-based rules. Points of interest mayinclude areas of interest, such as a long strip of beach. The electronicdevice uses location data (e.g., global positioning service (GPS) data,cell tower and/or Wi-Fi triangulation data, etc.) to determine whetherany of the location-based rules are satisfied. In the event alocation-based rule is satisfied, then a location-based event (e.g.,attribution event, conversion event, or other type of event) isgenerated on the device that, for example, describes a potentialcharacteristic of the user based on the device being at a particular POIwithout referencing the user's location, or in various embodiments, theparticular POI or any information with which a third party coulddetermine the identity or location of the POI. This location-based eventis stored on the device and transmitted to a server at various intervalsor upon request without including any information or data indicating acurrent or past location of the electronic device, according to variousembodiments.

Various conventional approaches can determine whether a user (i.e., adevice of a user) is in a location associated with a POI, but suchapproaches can result in the user's location being reported to thirdparties, application providers, and others; for example, a servercontaining POI data, mapping data, content such as offer data, or thelike. The techniques described herein offer unconventional approaches tosolving a problem inherent in location-based operations associated withan electronic device, which improves the operation and performance ofthe electronic (i.e., computing) devices on which they are implemented,as well as improving the technology of location-based identification,analysis, and reporting.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 for providing location-basedoperations, in accordance with various embodiments. It should beunderstood that reference numbers may be carried over between figuresfor similar components for purposes of explanation, but that such useshould not be interpreted as a limitation on the various embodiments.

In the example of FIG. 1, example system 100 for a user 102 includes amobile computing device 104, global positioning satellites 108, a mobilecommunication infrastructure 110, a gateway server 112, a network 114,and a location-based operation system 120. According to variousembodiments, system 100 may include additional, fewer, and/or adifferent configuration of the components shown in FIG. 1.

Mobile computing device 104 may be configured to providetelecommunication functions using mobile communication infrastructure110. Mobile computing device 104 may be, for example, a cellulartelephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable music player,a portable web browser, a digital camera, a video game console, or anyother portable computing device. For purpose of explanation, mobilecomputing device 104 is described herein with reference to a cellulartelephone or a device having cellular capabilities. Mobile computingdevice 104 may be configured to include one or more componentsconfigured to facilitate computing functions related to searching forinformation and presenting search results including a processor, memory,a display, etc.

According to an exemplary embodiment, mobile computing device 104 may beconfigured to include a location detection system 106. Locationdetection system 106 may include any type of system configured todetermine the location of mobile computing device 104. Locationdetection system 106 may be implemented using hardware, software, orsome combination thereof. According to an exemplary embodiment, locationdetection system 106 includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiverconfigured to receive global positioning signals from a plurality ofglobal positioning satellites 108 to determine a current location ofmobile computing device 104. In an exemplary embodiment, locationdetection system 106 may be used to determine the location of mobilecomputing device 104 within approximately 15 feet.

Alternatively, the location of mobile computing device 104 may bedetermined using any of a number of alternative locating methods.Further, location detection system 106 may be associated with any of thesystems or devices within system 100. For example, where n the exampleof FIG. 1, mobile computing device 104 is a cellular telephone andmobile communication infrastructure 110 is a network of cellular towers,gateway server 112 may be configured to include location detectionsystem 106 implemented as software configured to determine the locationof mobile computing device 104 based on a signal received from mobilecomputing device 104. The accuracy of the location detection may beimproved in the software using, for example, triangulation techniquesand an increased number of cellular towers.

Mobile communication infrastructure 110 may be any type of communicationinfrastructure configured to provide connectivity between mobilecomputing device 104 and one or more other computing devices. Anexemplary communication infrastructure 110 may include a network ofcellular communication towers as shown in FIG. 1. Alternativecommunication infrastructures may include a wireless computingcommunication network such as a WiFi network, a Bluetooth network, asatellite network, or any other type of system configured to provideconnectivity to mobile computing device 104.

Location detection may be provided based on the node or nodes ofcommunication infrastructure 110 receiving a signal from device 104 asdescribed above. Location detection using mobile communicationinfrastructure 110 may provide improved location detection insidebuildings where GPS receivers may fail to receive GPS signals. Mobilecomputing device 104 may also be configured to use a combination of anynumber of location detection techniques to determine its currentlocation. Location detection may be configured to be performed eitherautomatically or based upon a user-driven location update instruction.

Location detection system 106 may further be configured to determine theorientation and/or direction of movement of the user. “Orientation” maybe the current direction that the user is facing such as north, east,south, west. “Direction of movement” may be the direction in which thedevice 104 or the user of device 104 is traveling. The orientation anddirection of movement may be determined using compass readings, dataobtained from multiple waypoints, etc.

Orientation and direction of movement may be utilized by locationdetection system 106 to predict future locations. Specifically, thelocation may be set to locations that are in front of or along thedirection of travel of the user. For example, where the location and/ordirection of movement indicates the user is on an expressway, thelocation may be set to the next available exit from the expressway.Location detection system 106 may further be configured to implement apathfinding algorithm where a user provides a destination, and thelocation is set to include a travel route including locations along apath between the user's current location and that destination. Thepredicted location may further be refined based on a detected mode oftravel, such as walking, biking, driving, etc. The mode of travel may bedetermined based on location, speed of travel, etc.

Gateway server 112 may be any type of computing system connected tocommunication infrastructure 110 and configured to connectinfrastructure 110 to at least one other network, such as network 114.Gateway server 112 may be configured to transfer messages from one typeof network to the other. For example, gateway server 112 may beconfigured to receive a web page request from mobile computing device104 over mobile communication infrastructure 110 and convert thatmessage to a web page request for communication over network 114 to thecomputing host of the requested web page.

According to an exemplary embodiment, network 114 may be the Internet.Information network 114 may be configured to facilitate the transfer ofinformation to and from location-based operation system 120 to mobilecomputing device 104 through gateway server 112 and mobile communicationinfrastructure 110.

Location-based operation system 120 may be a computing system configuredto provide a listing of POI data, location-based rules, and content,among other data, described in further detail below. Location-basedoperation system 120 may include various components or elements,implemented in hardware or software according to techniques known in theart, comprising a location database 130, an identifier database 140(e.g., Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), MAC address, IP address, orany other type of identifying data, unique or otherwise) and a contentdatabase 150 operable to determine various data to send to a computingdevice 104, for example, as well as managing content and interactionsone or more users may have or have had with that or other content, forexample using an identifier from identifier database 140. According tovarious embodiments, one or more identifiers associated with identifierdatabase 140 may be unable to uniquely identify a device, therebyproviding benefits regarding privacy protection in location-basedoperations.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example situation 200 for location-basedoperations, including generating attribution events, in accordance withvarious embodiments. In the example 200 of FIG. 2, a geographic region240 is illustrated. While in the example of FIG. 2, the geographicregion 240 comprises several example city blocks, in various embodimentsa geographic region 240 could be of different sizes. In variousembodiments, a current and/or past position (e.g. location as defined byGPS data, etc.) of an electronic device may be associated with ageographic region 240, and an indication of the geographic region 240sent from the electronic device in which the precise location of theelectronic device cannot be determined; for example, because thegeographic region 240 is large and the electronic device could belocated anywhere in the geographic region 240. Without transmittingprecise, fine-grained location data (e.g., location coordinates, GPSdata, etc.) indicating where the electronic device is within thegeographic region 240, privacy of the electronic device's actuallocation may be maintained.

In the example 200 of FIG. 2, an electronic device 202 is illustrated asbeing located at a beginning location 204 and a subsequent location 208in the geographic region 240. As discussed herein, electronic device 202is capable of determining and monitoring its position at a particularpoint in time and over a period of time; for example, using a GPScomponent and GPS data, such as that provided by the example system ofFIG. 1.

According to various embodiments, electronic device 202 may have variousdata stored thereon. In this example, electronic device 202 is shown ashaving a data store 250 storing POI data 252, location-based rules 254,and location-based events 256, such as an attribution event (e.g., auser has a certain attribute, for example being at a particularlocation, type of location, brand, etc.), a conversion event (which mayhappen at an electronic device and/or a server (e.g., a person has takenan action at a location or has an attribute, in response to anotheraction, such as viewing content, receiving content being prompted insome manner, etc.), or other type of event, for example as a result of alocation-based rule being evaluated, content being sent, consumed orotherwise interacted with, etc., each of which will be described morefully herein. In various embodiments, additional and or different datamay be maintained by electronic device 202 in one or more databases/datastores, for example stored in flash storage, although the data store maybe stored on any type of internal or external storage, and in variousembodiments some or all of the data 252-256 may be stored on a serverthat is communicatively coupled to electronic device 202 by a network,for example.

According to various embodiments, POI data 252 may be received atelectronic device 202, for example from a server. Examples of POIsinclude specific locations that users may find useful or interesting,and which have a designed location that may be defined by location data(e.g., GPS data). In various approaches, a POI may be defined by aboundary or shape in the location data, such as a polygon, and the usermay be deemed “at” the POI when the user's GPS coordinates are insidethe boundary, for example. In the example of FIG. 2, XYZ Coffee 210, ABCCoffee 220, and Best Coffee 230 are all POIs. Individual POIs may beorganized in POI data, for example in categories, types, or according tosome type of common relation. In the example of FIG. 2, XYZ Coffee 210,ABC Coffee 220, and Best Coffee 230 are all POIs of the type (orcategory) “Coffee Shops.” As is commonly done, if a user did a locationsearch in geographic region 240 for “Coffee Shops,” the query wouldreturn all POIs in geographic region 240 that are identified as being inthat category, in this example, XYZ Coffee 210, ABC Coffee 220, and BestCoffee 230.

Current approaches to location-based operations, such as searching for,navigating to, and being in the vicinity of POIs can have seriousprivacy drawbacks. While performing location-based operations, thedevice may be constantly “pinging” a server; for example, providing aprecise device location to one or more entities (e.g., servers, etc.) inorder for the one or more entities to provide data and/or services tothe device, such as location data, POI reviews, traffic conditions,advertising data, etc. While sharing this precise device location mayoffer behavioral insights about a user of the device that could be usedto “target” the user with pertinent information, the user has to tradethe privacy of her precise location, perhaps over a long period of time.The techniques described herein overcome these and other drawbacksrelated to privacy concerns, among others, while allowing a user toexperience the potential benefits of targeted location-based content(e.g., having access to useful services supported by targeted content,receiving potentially relevant location-based suggestions, content,and/or offers, etc.) without giving up privacy regarding her location.

In the example of FIG. 2, there are three POIs 210, 220, 230, all of thesame type (“Coffee Shop”), which have been received from a server andstored in POI data 252 on electronic device 202. Electronic device 202may perform these and other location-based operations, for example byexecuting an application (“app”), executing a process managed by anembedded SDK, or some other set of instructions that enablecommunication with a server, for example. As will be discussed furtherherein, various approaches allow the retrieval of specific portions of alarger set of POI data 252 that is available at a server; by reducingthe amount of POI data 252 transmitted to the device, improvements tothe functioning of the device are obtained, such as reducing bandwidthand processing resources required to receive and process extraneous orunnecessary POI data.

According to various embodiments, location-based rules 254 thatcorrespond to the POI data 252 may be received at electronic device 202,for example from a server. A location-based rule 254 comprises in oneexample data that takes input, evaluates the input based on one or morecriteria, and creates output as a result. For example, a location-basedrule may comprise data that is capable of being utilized to accept a GPSlocation as input, evaluate whether the GPS location matches somecriteria, and outputs a result. Examples may be:

1. If the current location of the device is in an auto dealership POI,then the user is in the market for a vehicle.2. If the device has been within one mile of a beach POI three timesover the past two months, then the user is a beachgoer.3. If the device has been at a coffee shop POI twice this week, then theuser is a frequent coffee drinker.

Location-based rules 254 may be validated based on binary criteria(e.g., the device either was or was not within 500 feet of an autodealer POI, etc.), or may evaluate various criteria in order todetermine whether the location-based rule may be determined to have been“satisfied,” or answered in the affirmative. For example, variouscriteria such as duration within a certain distance of a locationassociated with a POI or POI type, a level of precision regarding thelocation data (e.g., is it triangulated with GPS data, coarse-grained,fine-grained, etc.), a closest distance that the device is determined toachieve with regard to the POI location (e.g., the device was within 100feet of the POI vs. the device was inside the POI, etc.), etc., may beevaluated, for example to determine a “proximity score” or other type ofmetric that may be compared, for example to a threshold such as a“proximity threshold.” If the threshold is met, then the location-basedrule may be considered to have been satisfied. A “dwell score” orsimilar metric may be used to satisfy a location-based rule. Forexample, a determination that the current position of the electronicdevice is within a threshold distance of a particular POI for a certainamount of time may be made, and a dwell score corresponding to alocation-based rule associated with the particular POI calculated, thedwell score based at least in part on the certain amount of time and/ora distance of the electronic device from the particular POI during thecertain amount of time. If the dwell score exceeds a particularthreshold or value, then the location-based rule may be consideredsatisfied. Other types or criteria could be considered in performing ascoring approach to location-based rule satisfaction. For example,scoring could take into account various factors such as time, aprecision of a location event, a degree within which a geofence waspenetrated, weighting of nested geofences (e.g., an outer geofence has alower weighting than an inner geofence, etc.), prior location events onthe same device (or by the same user on other devices), and the like.

According to various embodiments, additional data such as phone numbersdialed by the electronic device may be considered when evaluatinglocation-based rule satisfaction. For example, POI data may indicatevarious phone number data, such as phone numbers belonging to particularPOIs. A list of phone numbers dialed by the electronic device may bedetermined, and if the phone number data associated with the POIsmatches one or more phone numbers dialed by the electronic device, thenthat fact may be taken into account in determining that a location-basedrule has been satisfied. The device may generate a location-based eventin response, and send data to a server, the data not including any ofthe phone numbers dialed by the device; rather, various embodimentswould have the location-based event indicating “dialed phone numberassociated with POI type,” for example. Additional embodiments mayinclude additional criteria in the determination of the location-basedrule being satisfied based on phone number data; for example,determining that a phone number was dialed by the electronic devicewithin a threshold time of a particular time (e.g., the current time).In various embodiments, the phone number data may include multiple phonenumbers a multiple POIs of one or more types, which would allow forfurther privacy protection if none of the phone numbers were associatedwith a particular POI; rather, all that is needed is to determine thatone of a certain list of numbers was called.

According to various embodiments, location-based events 256 (e.g.,attribution events, conversion events, are generated at the device 202in response to one or more location-based rules 254 being satisfied orotherwise met, and indicate behavioral or other attributes about theuser of the device, without divulging private location information.Examples of attribution events may be:

1. “Visited car dealership”2. “Visited beach”3. “Visited coffee shop”

According to various embodiments, the location-based events 256 areassociated with a POI type and not a specific POI; in this manner,privacy may be maintained, because knowing a precise POI (e.g., ABCCoffee 220 on Lincoln Avenue) may provide a precise location of thedevice. As discussed further herein, a device may send coarse locationdata to a server (e.g., an indication of a geographic region, an IPaddress, etc.) that can be utilized to determine an appropriate set ofPOI data and location-based rules to send to the device. In an example,the device sends a geographic region associated with its location, wherethe geographic region is an area of a minimum number of square miles,for instance, such that the precise location of the electronic device isnot able to be determined with precision. In various embodiments, thedevice may triangulate itself and send data indicating a city, state, orcountry, in addition to or rather than geographic regions. A device maytruncate its precise location in order to provide coarse location data.For example, a device may send location data to a server indicating onlythat the device is in Kansas. As a result, the server can determine thatany POIs in the “Ocean” or “ocean beach” category may be excluded fromthe payload delivered to the device. Likewise, the POI data andlocation-based rules may be “sanitized” in the event that the coarselocation data provided by the device 202 indicates that the devicelocation could be given away because a particular POI or POI categoryand its associated location-based rule was sent to the device. Forexample, the device 202 could send location information only indicatingthat the device is in Wichita, Kansas. The server could determine thatin Wichita, Kansas, there is only one sporting goods store; therefore,sending POI data for the sporting goods store and a location-based rulethat generates a location-based event of “visited sporting goods store”would still be detailed enough to betray the device's 202 location.

In the example of FIG. 2, the device 202 starts 204 at “Best Coffee”230, the location of which is described in POI data 252 received fromthe server along with two location-based rules 254. The firstlocation-based rule provides that if the device enters the firstgeofence 232 surrounding Best Coffee, then an location-based event isgenerated that provides, “visiting coffee shop.” This location-basedevent is stored 256 and sent to a server, which processes the event andin response, queues content to be sent to the device the next time thedevice contacts the server. By asynchronously sending data in thismanner, bandwidth and processing resources may be conserved.

In this example, the content comprises an offer for ABC Coffee 220,along with POI information for ABC Coffee 220 (if not already sent) anda location-based rule that provides if the device 202 enters thegeofence 222 around ABC coffee, then generate an location-based event of“visited coffee shop” and a conversion event (although in someembodiments, a conversion event may be generated at a server, forexample). Because the server does not know the precise location of thedevice 202, only the geographic area 240 that was provided by thedevice, targeted content that implicates privacy (e.g., “I know that youare at Best Coffee, so I will send you an offer for Best Coffee”) can beavoided, but the benefit of content that displays relevance to theuser's behavior (e.g., “I know that you visit coffee shops in thisgeographic area 240, so I will send you an offer for a coffee shop typePOI in the geographic area 240”) can still be provided.

A second location-based rule associated with Best Coffee 230 may providethat if the device enters the second geofence 234 and stays there formore than 5 minutes, then another location-based event that provides,“frequent coffee drinker” is generated. In this example, once the device202 fulfills the second location-based rule and the location-based eventis sent to the server, then the server sends the offer to ABC Coffee220. The user receives the offer, and decides to leave Best Coffee 230and go to ABC Coffee 220, where the location-based rule is satisfiedbased on the device's new location 208, as discussed above.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example sequence of events 300 for providinglocation-based operations, in accordance with various embodiments. Itshould be understood that additional or alternate sequences of eventsmay be performed according to the techniques described herein. FIG. 3illustrates multiple “swim lanes” 310, 320, 330 of groups of activities,each of which may be performed independently or in response to otherswim lanes 310, 320, 330, as the swim lanes 310, 320, 330 areillustrated for ease of understanding.

In the example of FIG. 3, an electronic device 302, for example acellphone of a user, and a provider environment 304 (e.g., a back-endserver or servers) are illustrated. The provider environment 304 maycomprise various data stores 313, such as POI data, location-basedrules, content that may be delivered to the electronic device 302 orthat can or has been delivered to other devices, such as thoseassociated with the user of the electronic device 302, along withexposure event data potentially indicating whether the content has beeninteracted with, data concerning how the content was delivered, etc.

In the first swim lane 310 illustrated in FIG. 3, a device identifier issent 312 to the provider environment 304, in some embodimentsaccompanied with coarse location data; e.g., location data that does notprovide a precise location of the electronic device 302, either by beingtruncated or otherwise modified from the precise data form, or onlyidentifying a generic geographic region or area within which the devicemay be located. The provider environment 304 sends content 314 to theelectronic device 302, for example from the content data store 313,which is received by the electronic device 302 and stored, for examplein a content database 316 on the device 302. In the second swim lane320, in various embodiments as a result of exposure data at the providerenvironment 304 indicating that some action has been taken with regardto the content 314 previously sent, sends data 322 to the electronicdevice 302, such as POI data (e.g., POIs, POI types, location data forPOIs, etc.) and associated location-based rules.

The data 322 is stored at the device 302, for example in a POI andlocation-based rules database 324. One or more of the location-basedevents is determined to be satisfied at the device 302, as describedherein, and a location-based event is generated and stored on the device302, for example in a location events database 326. Data is sent fromthe electronic device 327, for example including location event data(e.g., device identifier and location-based event). The data is receivedat the provider environment 304, for example at a location eventanalysis 326 component. According to various embodiments, location eventanalysis 326 may determine, based on the location event data receivedfrom the device 302, that the user associated with the device is in aparticular segment (e.g., frequent coffee drinker), and/or that the userhas taken some type of action associated with content (e.g., conversionevent), such as content having been previously delivered or consumed ata device associated with the user (e.g., phone, tablet, an emailreceived by the user, etc.). This location event data, includingconversion events, is analyzed with regard to the content database 313,and additional data may then be sent to the device 302 in the third swimlane 330, such as additional content, POI data, and/or location-basedrules 322, which is stored on the device 302, for example in the contentdatabase 316.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example process 400 for location-based operations,in accordance with various embodiments. It should be understood that,for this and other processes discussed herein, there can be additional,fewer, or alternative steps, performed in similar or alternative steps,or in parallel, within the scope of the various embodiments unlessotherwise stated.

In the example 400 of FIG. 4, a position of an electronic device ismonitored 402, for example using GPS data. In various embodiments, theposition of the electronic device may be monitored at a specific time orover a period of time. Positional information and corresponding timeinformation may be stored on the electronic device. POI data andcorresponding location-based rules is received 404, for example over anetwork from one or more servers. According to various embodiments, thePOI data includes one or more POIs, some or all of which are associatedwith a particular location (e.g., a location defined by GPS data, aboundary, a polygon, and/or other techniques) and have a correspondingPOI type or category, which may be further organized in a hierarchicalor other related fashion.

The current position of the electronic device is determined 406 andcompared 408 to one or more of the location-based rules, for example todetermine whether the current device position corresponds to a POIlocation 410. In various embodiments, as described earlier, variouscriteria may be utilized in a location-based rule; e.g., alocation-based rule may comprise one or more geofences, may specifyvarious distances and/or time periods, etc. A determination 412 is madewhether the location-based rule has been met, or “satisfied,” forexample based on various factors such as the current device positioncorresponding to a location associated with one or more of the POIs,which may encompass being within a threshold distance, being within ageofence, etc.

In response to one or more of the location-based rules being satisfied,one or more attribution events are generated 414 and stored 416 at thedevice, and then sent 418 along with a device-specific identifier, forexample to a server. In various embodiments, an example of adevice-specific identifier may be an Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA),a unique identifier tied to the device, such as a MAC address, or othertype of identifier capable of identifying a specific device. Accordingto an embodiment, the device-specific identifier and the attributionevents do not contain information indicating the current position forthe electronic device. In one or more embodiment, the device-specificidentifier and the attribution events do not contain any locationinformation capable of identifying a location of the device within acertain threshold.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for location-based operations,in accordance with various embodiments. In the example 500 of FIG. 5, aposition of an electronic device is monitored 502, for example using GPSdata. In various embodiments, the position of the electronic device maybe monitored at a specific time or over a period of time. Positionalinformation and corresponding time information may be stored on theelectronic device. POI data and corresponding location-based rules isreceived 504, for example over a network from one or more servers. Thecurrent position of the electronic device is determined 506 and compared508 to one or more of the location-based rules, for example to determinewhether the current device position corresponds to a POI location 510.

A closest distance between the current position of the device and thelocation associated with one of the POIs is determined 512, along withan amount of time 514, for example spent at the closest determineddistance. For example, if a device was within ten feet of a POI locationfor three seconds, then that could be construed as the user of thedevice simply walking past the POI. If the device was within five feetfor three minutes, then that could be construed as “window-shopping,” ora similar type of activity or characteristic. Based on various criteriasuch as the distance and time, a determination is made whether athreshold value is met 516, such as a “satisfaction threshold” or“proximity threshold.” Various scoring techniques, along with or insteadof, additional metrics may also be used in the determination. If thelocation-based rule is not met; i.e., it fails 520, such as by asatisfaction score or proximity score not meeting a threshold. If thethreshold value is met, then the location-based rule is met or satisfied518.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example situation 600 for location-basedoperations, including generating attribution events, in accordance withvarious embodiments. In the example situation 600 of FIG. 6, anelectronic device 602 is determined to be at a particular location 604on “6^(th) Ave.” and to be traveling in an Easterly direction 606. APOI, such as a billboard 610, is located along the travel path of thedevice according to location data, and is facing in a Westerlydirection; e.g., the billboard 610 has a direction vector in itsassociated location data, which in some embodiments may be referred toas a “viewing vector.”

In the example of FIG. 6, a location-based rule is associated with thebillboard 610; namely, that if the current location of the device 602 iswithin a geofence 608 associated with the billboard 610, and acorrespondence exists between the direction of travel of the electronicdevice and the viewing vector, then the location-based rule issatisfied. The “correspondence” may be defined by the location-basedrule, but in the example of FIG. 6, it means that the device 602 istraveling in a direction that would allow it to read the billboard 610.Other criteria may be included in the location-based rule; for example,a speed of the device 602 may have to be under a threshold value, thetime of travel may have to be during specific hours/days, differentattribution events may be generated based on traffic conditions (e.g.,exposure time to the billboard because of being stalled in traffic,etc.), etc.

Once it is determined that the location-based rule is satisfied, then inan embodiment, an location-based event (e.g., saw billboard”, etc.) isgenerated at the device 602 that corresponds to the POI type (e.g.,“billboard” or “Advertiser X billboard” or “Billboard advertising Yproduct”, etc.) to which the POI belongs, and is sent from the device602 along with a device identifier. In this way, user privacy isprotected because no location information is sent from the device;rather, only an location-based event that offers a coarse level ofdetail regarding behavioral information associated with the devicelocation.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example electronic device that can be utilized inaccordance with various embodiments. Although a portable computingdevice (e.g., a smartphone, an electronic book reader, or tabletcomputer) is shown, it should be understood that any device capable ofreceiving and processing input can be used in accordance with variousembodiments discussed herein. The devices can include, for example,desktop computers, notebook computers, electronic book readers, personaldata assistants, cellular phones, video gaming consoles or controllers,television set top boxes, and portable media players, among others.

In this example, the computing device 700 has a display screen 702(e.g., an LCD element) operable to display information or image contentto one or more users or viewers of the device. The display screen ofsome embodiments displays information to the viewers facing the displayscreen (e.g., on the same side of the computing device as the displayscreen). The computing device in this example can include one or moreimaging elements, in this example including two image capture elements704 on the front of the device and at least one image capture element710 on the back of the device. It should be understood, however, thatimage capture elements could also, or alternatively, be placed on thesides or corners of the device, and that there can be any appropriatenumber of capture elements of similar or different types. Each imagecapture element 704 and 710 may be, for example, a camera, acharge-coupled device (CCD), a motion detection sensor or an infraredsensor, or other image capturing technology.

As discussed, the device can use the images (e.g., still or video)captured from the imaging elements 704 and 710 to generate athree-dimensional simulation of the surrounding environment (e.g., avirtual reality of the surrounding environment for display on thedisplay element of the device). Further, the device can utilize outputsfrom at least one of the image capture elements 704 and 710 to assist indetermining the location and/or orientation of a user and in recognizingnearby persons, objects, or locations. For example, if the user isholding the device, the captured image information can be analyzed(e.g., using mapping information about a particular area) to determinethe approximate location and/or orientation of the user. The capturedimage information may also be analyzed to recognize nearby persons,objects, or locations (e.g., by matching parameters or elements from themapping information).

The computing device can also include at least one microphone or otheraudio capture elements capable of capturing audio data, such as wordsspoken by a user of the device, music being hummed by a person near thedevice, or audio being generated by a nearby speaker or other suchcomponent, although audio elements are not required in at least somedevices. In this example there are three microphones, one microphone 708on the front side, one microphone 712 on the back, and one microphone706 on or near a top or side of the device. In some devices there may beonly one microphone, while in other devices there might be at least onemicrophone on each side and/or corner of the device, or in otherappropriate locations.

The device 700 in this example also includes one or more orientation- orposition-determining elements 718 operable to provide information suchas a position, direction, motion, or orientation of the device. Theseelements can include, for example, accelerometers, inertial sensors,electronic gyroscopes, and electronic compasses.

The example device also includes at least one communication mechanism714, such as may include at least one wired or wireless componentoperable to communicate with one or more electronic devices. The devicealso includes a power system 716, such as may include a battery operableto be recharged through conventional plug-in approaches, or throughother approaches such as capacitive charging through proximity with apower mat or other such device. Various other elements and/orcombinations are possible as well within the scope of variousembodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a set of basic components of an electronic computingdevice 800 such as the device 700 described with respect to FIG. 7. Inthis example, the device includes at least one processing unit 802 forexecuting instructions that can be stored in a memory device or element804. As would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, thedevice can include many types of memory, data storage, orcomputer-readable media, such as a first data storage for programinstructions for execution by the processing unit(s) 802, the same orseparate storage can be used for images or data, a removable memory canbe available for sharing information with other devices, and any numberof communication approaches can be available for sharing with otherdevices.

The device typically will include some type of display element 806, suchas a touch screen, electronic ink (e-ink), organic light emitting diode(OLED) or liquid crystal display (LCD), although devices such asportable media players might convey information via other means, such asthrough audio speakers.

As discussed, the device in many embodiments will include at least oneimaging element 808, such as one or more cameras that are able tocapture images of the surrounding environment and that are able to imagea user, people, or objects in the vicinity of the device. The imagecapture element can include any appropriate technology, such as a CCDimage capture element having a sufficient resolution, focal range, andviewable area to capture an image of the user when the user is operatingthe device. Methods for capturing images using a camera element with acomputing device are well known in the art and will not be discussedherein in detail. It should be understood that image capture can beperformed using a single image, multiple images, periodic imaging,continuous image capturing, image streaming, etc. Further, a device caninclude the ability to start and/or stop image capture, such as whenreceiving a command from a user, application, or other device.

The example computing device 800 also includes at least one orientationdetermining element 810 able to determine and/or detect orientationand/or movement of the device. Such an element can include, for example,an accelerometer or gyroscope operable to detect movement (e.g.,rotational movement, angular displacement, tilt, position, orientation,motion along a non-linear path, etc.) of the device 800. An orientationdetermining element can also include an electronic or digital compass,which can indicate a direction (e.g., north or south) in which thedevice is determined to be pointing (e.g., with respect to a primaryaxis or other such aspect).

As discussed, the device in many embodiments will include at least apositioning element 812 for determining a location of the device (or theuser of the device). A positioning element can include or comprise a GPSor similar location-determining elements operable to determine relativecoordinates for a position of the device. As mentioned above,positioning elements may include wireless access points, base stations,etc. that may either broadcast location information or enabletriangulation of signals to determine the location of the device. Otherpositioning elements may include QR codes, barcodes, RFID tags, NFCtags, etc. that enable the device to detect and receive locationinformation or identifiers that enable the device to obtain the locationinformation (e.g., by mapping the identifiers to a correspondinglocation). Various embodiments can include one or more such elements inany appropriate combination.

As mentioned above, some embodiments use the element(s) to track thelocation of a device. Upon determining an initial position of a device(e.g., using GPS), the device of some embodiments may keep track of thelocation of the device by using the element(s), or in some instances, byusing the orientation determining element(s) as mentioned above, or acombination thereof. As should be understood, the algorithms ormechanisms used for determining a position and/or orientation can dependat least in part upon the selection of elements available to the device.

The example device also includes one or more wireless components 814operable to communicate with one or more electronic devices within acommunication range of the particular wireless channel. The wirelesschannel can be any appropriate channel used to enable devices tocommunicate wirelessly, such as Bluetooth, cellular, NFC, or Wi-Fichannels. It should be understood that the device can have one or moreconventional wired communications connections as known in the art.

The device also includes a power system 816, such as may include abattery operable to be recharged through conventional plug-inapproaches, or through other approaches such as capacitive chargingthrough proximity with a power mat or other such device. Various otherelements and/or combinations are possible as well within the scope ofvarious embodiments.

In some embodiments the device can include at least one additional inputdevice 818 able to receive conventional input from a user. Thisconventional input can include, for example, a push button, touch pad,touch screen, wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, keypad, or any othersuch device or element whereby a user can input a command to the device.These I/O devices could even be connected by a wireless infrared orBluetooth or other link as well in some embodiments. Some devices alsocan include a microphone or other audio capture element that acceptsvoice or other audio commands. For example, a device might not includeany buttons at all, but might be controlled only through a combinationof visual and audio commands, such that a user can control the devicewithout having to be in contact with the device.

As discussed, different approaches can be implemented in variousenvironments in accordance with the described embodiments. For example,FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an environment 900 for implementingaspects in accordance with various embodiments. As will be appreciated,although a Web-based environment is used for purposes of explanation,different environments may be used, as appropriate, to implement variousembodiments. The system includes an electronic client device 902, whichcan include any appropriate device operable to send and receiverequests, messages or information over an appropriate network 904 andconvey information back to a user of the device. Examples of such clientdevices include personal computers, cell phones, handheld messagingdevices, laptop computers, set-top boxes, personal data assistants,electronic book readers and the like. The network can include anyappropriate network, including an intranet, the Internet, a cellularnetwork, a local area network or any other such network or combinationthereof. Components used for such a system can depend at least in partupon the type of network and/or environment selected. Protocols andcomponents for communicating via such a network are well known and willnot be discussed herein in detail. Communication over the network can beenabled via wired or wireless connections and combinations thereof. Inthis example, the network includes the Internet, as the environmentincludes a Web server 906 for receiving requests and serving content inresponse thereto, although for other networks, an alternative deviceserving a similar purpose could be used, as would be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art.

The illustrative environment includes at least one application server908 and a data store 910. It should be understood that there can beseveral application servers, layers or other elements, processes orcomponents, which may be chained or otherwise configured, which caninteract to perform tasks such as obtaining data from an appropriatedata store. As used herein, the term “data store” refers to any deviceor combination of devices capable of storing, accessing and retrievingdata, which may include any combination and number of data servers,databases, data storage devices and data storage media, in any standard,distributed or clustered environment. The application server 908 caninclude any appropriate hardware and software for integrating with thedata store 910 as needed to execute aspects of one or more applicationsfor the client device and handling a majority of the data access andbusiness logic for an application. The application server providesaccess control services in cooperation with the data store and is ableto generate content such as text, graphics, audio and/or video to betransferred to the user, which may be served to the user by the Webserver 906 in the form of HTML, XML or another appropriate structuredlanguage in this example. The handling of all requests and responses, aswell as the delivery of content between the client device 902 and theapplication server 908, can be handled by the Web server 906. It shouldbe understood that the Web and application servers are not required andare merely example components, as structured code discussed herein canbe executed on any appropriate device or host machine as discussedelsewhere herein.

The data store 910 can include several separate data tables, databasesor other data storage mechanisms and media for storing data relating toa particular aspect. For example, the data store illustrated includesmechanisms for storing content (e.g., production data) 912 and userinformation 916, which can be used to serve content for the productionside. The data store is also shown to include a mechanism for storinglog or session data 914. It should be understood that there can be manyother aspects that may need to be stored in the data store, such as pageimage information and access rights information, which can be stored inany of the above listed mechanisms as appropriate or in additionalmechanisms in the data store 910. The data store 910 is operable,through logic associated therewith, to receive instructions from theapplication server 908 and obtain, update or otherwise process data inresponse thereto. In one example, a user might submit a search requestfor a certain type of item. In this case, the data store might accessthe user information to verify the identity of the user and can accessthe catalog detail information to obtain information about items of thattype. The information can then be returned to the user, such as in aresults listing on a Web page that the user is able to view via abrowser on the user device 902. Information for a particular item ofinterest can be viewed in a dedicated page or window of the browser.

Each server typically will include an operating system that providesexecutable program instructions for the general administration andoperation of that server and typically will include computer-readablemedium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of theserver, allow the server to perform its intended functions. Suitableimplementations for the operating system and general functionality ofthe servers are known or commercially available and are readilyimplemented by persons having ordinary skill in the art, particularly inlight of the disclosure herein.

The environment in one embodiment is a distributed computing environmentutilizing several computer systems and components that areinterconnected via communication links, using one or more computernetworks or direct connections. However, it will be appreciated by thoseof ordinary skill in the art that such a system could operate equallywell in a system having fewer or a greater number of components than areillustrated in FIG. 9. Thus, the depiction of the system 900 in FIG. 9should be taken as being illustrative in nature and not limiting to thescope of the disclosure.

The various embodiments can be further implemented in a wide variety ofoperating environments, which in some cases can include one or more usercomputers or computing devices which can be used to operate any of anumber of applications. User or client devices can include any of anumber of general purpose personal computers, such as desktop or laptopcomputers running a standard operating system, as well as cellular,wireless and handheld devices running mobile software and capable ofsupporting a number of networking and messaging protocols. Such a systemcan also include a number of workstations running any of a variety ofcommercially-available operating systems and other known applicationsfor purposes such as development and database management. These devicescan also include other electronic devices, such as dummy terminals,thin-clients, gaming systems and other devices capable of communicatingvia a network.

Most embodiments utilize at least one network that would be familiar tothose skilled in the art for supporting communications using any of avariety of commercially-available protocols, such as TCP/IP, FTP, UPnP,NFS, and CIFS. The network can be, for example, a local area network, awide-area network, a virtual private network, the Internet, an intranet,an extranet, a public switched telephone network, an infrared network, awireless network and any combination thereof.

In embodiments utilizing a Web server, the Web server can run any of avariety of server or mid-tier applications, including HTTP servers, FTPservers, CGI servers, data servers, Java servers and businessapplication servers. The server(s) may also be capable of executingprograms or scripts in response requests from user devices, such as byexecuting one or more Web applications that may be implemented as one ormore scripts or programs written in any programming language, such asJava®, C, C# or C++ or any scripting language, such as Perl, Python orTCL, as well as combinations thereof. The server(s) may also includedatabase servers, including without limitation those commerciallyavailable from Oracle® , Microsoft®, Sybase® and IBM®.

The environment can include a variety of data stores and other memoryand storage media as discussed above. These can reside in a variety oflocations, such as on a storage medium local to (and/or resident in) oneor more of the computers or remote from any or all of the computersacross the network. In a particular set of embodiments, the informationmay reside in a storage-area network (SAN) familiar to those skilled inthe art. Similarly, any necessary files for performing the functionsattributed to the computers, servers or other network devices may bestored locally and/or remotely, as appropriate. Where a system includescomputerized devices, each such device can include hardware elementsthat may be electrically coupled via a bus, the elements including, forexample, at least one central processing unit (CPU), at least one inputdevice (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, controller, touch-sensitive displayelement or keypad) and at least one output device (e.g., a displaydevice, printer or speaker). Such a system may also include one or morestorage devices, such as disk drives, optical storage devices andsolid-state storage devices such as random access memory (RAM) orread-only memory (ROM), as well as removable media devices, memorycards, flash cards, etc.

Such devices can also include a computer-readable storage media reader,a communications device (e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless orwired), an infrared communication device) and working memory asdescribed above. The computer-readable storage media reader can beconnected with, or configured to receive, a computer-readable storagemedium representing remote, local, fixed and/or removable storagedevices as well as storage media for temporarily and/or more permanentlycontaining, storing, transmitting and retrieving computer-readableinformation. The system and various devices also typically will includea number of software applications, modules, services or other elementslocated within at least one working memory device, including anoperating system and application programs such as a client applicationor Web browser. It should be appreciated that alternate embodiments mayhave numerous variations from that described above. For example,customized hardware might also be used and/or particular elements mightbe implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, suchas applets) or both. Further, connection to other computing devices suchas network input/output devices may be employed.

Storage media and other non-transitory computer readable media forcontaining code, or portions of code, can include any appropriate mediaknown or used in the art, such as but not limited to volatile andnon-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data,including RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by a system device. Basedon the disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implementthe various embodiments.

The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense. It will, however, beevident that various modifications and changes may be made thereuntowithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention asset forth in the claims.

1. (canceled)
 2. A computer-implemented method, comprising: receiving,at the device, point of interest (POI) data and location data for thePOI, the POI data including a POI of a POI type, the POI associated witha location in the location data; receiving a location-based ruleassociated with the POI; determining, at the device, a current locationof the device; determining that the location-based rule associated withthe POI is satisfied, based at least on the current locationcorresponding to the location; generating, a location-based eventcorresponding to the POI type; and sending event data from the device,the event data comprising the location-based event along with anidentifier capable of identifying the device, wherein the event data isdevoid of data capable of identifying the current location of thedevice.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the POIdata and the location-based rule are portions of primary POI data andprimary location-based rules, the primary POI data comprising potentialPOIs belonging to potential POI types, and wherein the POI data and thelocation-based rule is determined by: sending, from the device, anindication of a geographic region associated with at least one of thecurrent location for the device or a past position for the device thatwas visited at least a threshold number of times in a specified timeperiod, the geographic region having a diameter no less than a thresholdamount of distance from the current location for the device or the pastposition for the device; determining, for an individual potential POIrepresented in the primary POI data, a privacy score based at least on anumber of individual potential POI types corresponding to the individualpotential POI being located in the geographic region; determining thatthe privacy score for the individual potential POI exceeds a certainthreshold; and including the individual potential POI and thecorresponding location-based rule in the POI data.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein determining that one ormore of the location-based rules is satisfied further comprises:determining, on the device, that the current location of the device iswithin a threshold distance of a particular POI for an amount of time;determining a dwell score for a corresponding location-based rule to theparticular POI, the dwell score based at least in part on the amount oftime and a distance of the device from the particular POI during theamount of time; and determining that the dwell score satisfies at leasta threshold value.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 2,further comprising: determining, for a particular rule of a set oflocation-based rules, at least two geofences associated with theparticular rule, one of the geofences being an inner geofence and one ofthe geofences being an outer geofence, the inner geofence being nestedwithin the outer geofence; determining, on the device, that the currentlocation for the device is within the outer geofence; generating a firstlocation-based event associated with the particular rule; determiningthat the current location for the device is within the inner geofence;and generating, a second location-based event associated with theparticular rule.
 6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumcomprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a device,cause the device to: receive point of interest (POI) data and locationdata for the POI, the POI data including a POI of a POI type, the POIassociated with a location in the location data; receive alocation-based rule associated with the POI; determine a currentlocation of the device; determine that the location-based ruleassociated with the POI is satisfied, based at least on the currentlocation corresponding to the location; generate, a location-based eventcorresponding to the POI type; and send event data comprising thelocation-based event along with an identifier capable of identifying thedevice, wherein the event data is devoid of data capable of identifyingthe current location of the device.
 7. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 6, comprising the instructionsthat, when executed by the processor, further cause the device to:determine that content has been viewed on the electronic device;determining that a new location-based rule associated with the contentis satisfied; generating, a new location-based event corresponding tothe content; sending new event data comprising the new location-basedevent along with the identifier, wherein the new event data is devoid ofdata capable of identifying the current location of the device; andreceiving new POI data and an additional location-based rule.
 8. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, wherein thelocation-based rule comprises a geofence associated with the POI and thenew location-based rule comprises a new geofence associated with thePOI, the new geofence having a smaller diameter than the geofence. 9.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7, whereinthe content is associated with the POI and determining that the newlocation-based rule associated with the content is satisfied furthercomprises: determining a view-based time at which the content was viewedon the device; determining a satisfaction score, the satisfaction scorebased at least one of: a time difference between the view-based time anda location-based time at which the current location corresponded to thelocation, a level of precision associated with the current locationcorresponding to the location, or an amount of penetration achieved bythe device into a geofence associated with the POI; and determining thatthe satisfaction score exceeds a particular threshold.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein thePOI data includes phone number data for the POI, and further comprising:receiving a new location-based rule associated with the POI; accessing alist of phone numbers dialed in the device; determining that the newlocation-based rule is satisfied based at least in part on the phonenumber data including at least one phone number of the list of phonenumbers; generating a new location-based event corresponding to the POItype; and sending the new location-based event and the identifier frowithout including any phone numbers of the list of phone numbers. 11.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, whereindetermining that the new location-based rule is satisfied includesdetermining that the at least one phone number of the list of phonenumbers was dialed in the device within a threshold time of a currenttime.
 12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim6, wherein the POI data includes a new POI of a new POI type, the newPOI having a new location and a viewing vector in the location data, andfurther comprising: receiving a new location-based rule associated withthe new POI; determining a new current location and a direction oftravel of the device; determining that the new current location iswithin a geofence associated with the new location; determining acorrespondence between the direction of travel of the device and theviewing vector; determining that the new location-based rule issatisfied; generating a new location-based event corresponding to thenew POI type; storing the new location-based event at the device; andsending the new location-based event along with the identifier from thedevice.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim6, wherein the location-based rule comprises a proximity threshold, andwherein determining that the location-based rule associated with the POIis satisfied comprises: determining a proximity score based at least onone of distance between the current location and the location or anamount of time the current location is within a particular distance ofthe location; and determining that the proximity threshold is satisfiedbased at least on the proximity score.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 6 comprising the instructionsthat, when executed by a processor, further cause the device to: send,to a server, a geographical area representing a minimum distancesurrounding the device; and determine a number of POIs of the POI typein the geographical area that exceeds a threshold amount.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein thePOI data comprises a plurality of polygons defined by the location data.16. A system, comprising: at least one processor; and memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, causethe system to: receive points of interest (POI) data and correspondinglocation data, the POI data including a POI of a POI type, the POIhaving a location in the location data; receive a location-based ruleassociated with the POI; determine a current location of the system;determine that the location-based rule associated with the POI issatisfied, based at least on the current location corresponding to thelocation; generate a location-based event corresponding to the POI type;and send event data from the system, the event data comprising thelocation-based event along with an identifier capable of identifying thesystem, wherein the event data is devoid of data capable of identifyingthe current location of the system.
 17. The system of claim 16, whereinthe instructions further cause the system to: determine that content hasbeen viewed in the system; determining that a new location-based ruleassociated with the content is satisfied; generating a newlocation-based event corresponding to the content; sending new eventdata comprising the new location-based event along with the identifier,wherein the new event data is devoid of data capable of identifying thecurrent location of the system; and receiving new POI data and anadditional location-based rule.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein thelocation-based rule comprises a geofence associated with the POI and thenew location-based rule comprises a new geofence associated with thePOI, the new geofence having a smaller diameter than the geofence. 19.The system of claim 17, wherein the content is associated with the POI,and determining that the new location-based rule associated with thecontent is satisfied further comprises: determining a view-based time atwhich the content was viewed in the system; determining a satisfactionscore, the satisfaction score based at least one of: a time differencebetween the view-based time and a location-based time at which thecurrent location corresponded to the location, a level of precisionassociated with the current location corresponding to the location, oran amount of penetration achieved by the system into a geofenceassociated with the POI; and determining that the satisfaction scoreexceeds a particular threshold.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein thePOI data includes phone number data for the POI, and further comprising:receiving a new location-based rule associated with the POI; accessing alist of phone numbers dialed in the system; determining that the newlocation-based rule is satisfied based at least in part on the phonenumber data including at least one phone number of the list of phonenumbers; generating a new location-based event corresponding to the POItype in response to the new location-based rule being satisfied; andsending the new location-based event and the identifier from the systemwithout including any phone numbers of the list of phone numbers. 21.The system of claim 20, wherein the phone number data further includes aplurality of phone numbers for a plurality of POIs of the POI type.